By: Andy Kessler - wsj.com - November 9, 2025

Anarchists detonated a bomb in 1920 at J.P. Morgan & Co.’s headquarters at 23 Wall St., killing 38 and wounding more than 100. Scars from that bombing are still visible today. So are anarchists. As the little girl said in “Poltergeist II,” “They’re back.”

Anarchy is in the air. Alex Soros celebrated the New York mayoral result by tweeting, “The American dream continues!” His father’s Open Society Foundations have a history of funding anarchy-producing criminal-justice reforms and antipolice movements. Some American dream.

Why anarchy and destruction of social order? Always ask: Who benefits? The breaking down of society is a means to an end—the long game of political control. Citizens scream, “Save me!” This isn’t new. The Reichstag fire. Food shortages driving a Bolshevik uprising. Pandemic riots. Anarchy works. I have no love for czars, but control often passes to political systems that are much worse. Socialism. Communism. Authoritarian control. Only the new rulers are better off.

But wait, isn’t society crumbling? Haven’t you heard that costs are skyrocketing, jobs are hard to find, late-stage capitalism is failing and the source of all evil? Many youths think, “Socialism, save me!” But there’s always economic upheaval. Unlike anarchy, economic chaos is driven by creative destruction, and productivity is a long-term plus. It generates societal wealth by breaking down a sclerotic status quo and bringing better living standards. Anarchy destroys wealth to grab power.